Editorial Reviews

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A company that produces a toxic chemical tries to improve its image via popular spokesperson, Ricky Coogan. Ricky travels to South America to get a first-hand look at the chemical's effects and finds himself at a mutant freak farm. Elijah, who runs the farm, is only too happy to have new subjects on which to try his freak machine. The very chemical that Ricky is supposed to promote is the one responsible for creating the great variety of freaks.

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By the time the pair of bloodshot, gun-toting, Rastafarian eyeballs appears, you know you're witnessing the birth of a new cult film. In the delirious Freaked, a sleazy multinational corporation hires a spoiled-rotten former child star named Ricky Coogin (Alex Winter, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) to be the spokesman for a toxic biochemical fertilizer. When Ricky goes down to the poverty-stricken third world country where the toxin is used, he---along with his best friend and a comely anti-corporate activist (Megan Ward, Joe's Apartment)--get sidetracked to a freakshow presented by the flamboyant Elijah C. Skuggs (Randy Quaid, Kingpin). But Skuggs doesn't just display freaks, he creates them, and Ricky is going to be his masterpiece. This is only the beginning of a crass, tasteless, and hysterical (in both senses of the word) movie. Co-writer/co-director Winter and his pals pile on joke after idiosyncratic joke (clearly influenced by the shotgun-style humor of Airplane! and Mad magazine). You can feel that they fell all over themselves with laughter when they conceived each bit--no tepid Hollywood committee would have turned a movie's love interest into a double-gendered conjoined twin or cast Mr. T as a Bearded Lady, along with such an eclectic bunch as Bobcat Goldthwait, Brooke Shields, and an uncredited Keanu Reeves. Freaked is clearly a labor of love that deserves to find its infatuated audience. This dvd features a bushel of extras, including some unjustly deleted scenes. --Bret Fetzer

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Anchor Bay Entertainment just gave Fangoria Magazine the exclusive scoop on the final details of its FREAKED two-DVD special edition (now set to street July 12), along with the dual-layer cover art. Alex Winter and Tom Stern's outrageous monster comedy will be presented in 1.85:1, 16x9-enhanced widescreen (Fango got an advance peek at the transfer, which looks great), with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround audio. The first disc will contain the following extras:

* Audio commentary by Winter and Stern

* A conversation with co-writer Tim Burns

* Deleted scenes

* Hijinx in Freekland, a collection of behind-the-scenes footage

* FREAKED art gallery

* Theatrical trailer

* DVD-ROM original screenplay

The second disc will include:

* FREAKED: The Reehersel Version, a full-length cast rehearsal of the film, including Keanu Reeves sans Dog Boy makeup, with scenes and dialogue that never made it into the final film

In 1993, there was a changing of the guard at 20th Century Fox and one of the film casualties was a little gem called "Freaked" (aka "Hideous Mutant Freekz"). I recall the film being released in one theater in L.A. (the Laemmle Sunset 5 in West Hollywood) and it lasted maybe a week. Entertainment Weekly voted it one of the 10 best videos to be released that year. Thanks to HBO, it has become a minor cult-classic and deservedly so.

If you haven't heard the plot, here goes... Ricky Coogin (Alex Winter), a former child star of the TV series "Baker's Dozen" and the film "Ghost Dude", has been tapped to be a spokesman for EES (Everything Except Shoes) to promote an experimental fertilizer called Zygrot-24, which has been banned in the U.S. and Europe. Coogin and his sexist buddy Ernie (Michael Stoyanov, "Blossom") travel to Santa Flan (named for the patron saint of creamy desserts), where they meet up with feminist protester Julie (the very lovely Megan Ward, "Encino Man"). The three stumble across Freek World, run by Elijah C. Skuggs (played to perfection by Randy Quaid). Skuggs, as it turns out, is a mad scientist who has been using Zygrot-24 to create freaks for his sideshow (played by Keanu Reeves, Mr. T and Bob Goldthwait, to name a few).

I don't want to give too much away. This is one of those films that you'll either love or hate. I will say that there are constant sight gags, so many that required viewing is almost required to catch them all.

It has always been my wish that this film would one day be discovered. Here's hoping that Anchor Bay promotes the hell out of it.

Freaked is the answer to that old question, "What ever happened to that Alex Winter guy?" Granted he hasn't really done much since this, but he makes a rather impressive and memorable film as both lead actor and co-director.I'm a bit surprised that more cult fans aren't aware of this film. It's zany as all hell, has some notable actors and boasts some impressive creature FX.Alex Winter is Ricky Coogan, a former child star and all around snotty jerk. He agrees to be a spokesman in South America for a fertilizer called Zygrot-24. When Coogan and his buddy land in South America and pick up a feisty activist, they find themselves at a freak emporium run by Elijah Skuggs(Randy Quaid in full whacko mode). Skuggs uses the Zygrot-24 fertilizer to make the freaks he displays. Coogan and his buddies become the latest victims. Coogan's now the "Beast Boy", and becomes the star attraction. He also becomes a kind of leader for the group that consists of The Bearded Lady(Mr.T), A living sock puppet(Bobcat Goldthwait), a literal Cow-Boy, an uncredited Keanu Reeves as the dog boy, and many more. Coogan is pursued by a loud big eared boy who is his number one fan, who becomes instrumental in bringing down Skuggs and the evil corporate schmucks who want to change the human race with Zygrot-24. The head of the corporation is played by the always reliable William Sadler. The film is told through a series of flashbacks that Coogan is telling as a guest on a talk show hosted by Brooke Shields.Needless to say, this movie is wacky, very wacky. Very cartoonish and off the wall. Some of the zany humor and kinetic camera techniques are quite prevalent now in movies and tv shows, but this was most likely ahead of it's time in 1993. Too bad nobody watched it.Read more ›